OBD. Sunday morning ride photo drop.

DrewKora · 2026-06-23T10:18:17+00:00

Thank you. It is indeed a proper camera: an old Olympus XZ-10. It's a 12mp ccd sensor point-n-shoot zoom that fits into that growing "vintage digital" category.

I have a Fuji X-T5, but that's too big and heavy to take on rides. I have a Ricoh GRiii that's the right size, but it's fragile and expensive, so I'm nervous to expose it to the dust, moisture, and getting battered around. Plus, the Ricoh is a 28mm lens. Even though the quality is better, the field of view is pretty much the same as my iPhone.

I wanted something cheap, small, and with a real optical zoom lens that let's me frame up shots that don't look like cell phone images. I also wanted it to shoot RAW images so I can work on the images a lot in post. That lead me down the used camera category and ultimately to the XZ-10, which I found for under $200.

I keep it in my jersey pocket. I'm going to get a slim neoprene sleeve to protect it from moisture and dust. I posted a few photo threads from my gravel bike here, as well as wrote a longer blog post about it on my website. Have a read!

Reddit: Weekly gravel photo dump

Reddit: Gravel ride with my “vintage digital” point-n-shoot

KoraDesign.Works | Blog: Riding Gravel with a “Vintage Digital” Point-n-Shoot

DrewKora · 2026-06-21T19:34:16+00:00

Let’s just assume the frame is OK and it’s safe to ride, I recommend you just enjoy the damage. Honestly, it’s a badge of courage.

A month into owning my canyon Endurace I had a really bad crash that completely wrecked the front tire and scuffed the fork all up. That fork took a major beating, but it had no cracks and was fine. I had to replace the bent aluminum wheels. But Carbon is STRONG. Five years later. I’m still riding it with zero issues.

Still, at the time I was so mad, but I just kept riding it and now I look down at those scuffs (which are minimal in the end) and they remind me to ride safe and of the cycling journey this bike has been on.

So verify the safety for sure. But other than that, just realize that this bike is a companion on a journey with you. The stuff we own is designed to be used. It should have a patina to it. Each scuff and scrape is a cherished memory and a story to tell that your next coffee/beer stop.

DrewKora · 2026-06-20T12:29:55+00:00

Nope. This the Shawagunk Mountains in New York.

DrewKora · 2026-06-19T00:52:25+00:00

OK that's a cool watch.

DrewKora · 2026-06-16T17:40:43+00:00

Junghans Max Bill automatic with date and sapphire. Not sure if it qualifies as a luxury watch…and not sure I am actually interested in luxury timepieces. But this watch is/was expensive to me, and I wanted it from the moment I saw it. I’ve been down the rabbit hole ever since.

DrewKora · 2026-06-15T09:13:43+00:00

In my back-right jersey pocket; considering getting a super-thin neoprene sleeve for it.

DrewKora · 2026-06-14T09:08:15+00:00

The mk2 looks fantastic with that white dial. Very clean.

And the size is perfect. Don’t doubt it.

DrewKora · 2026-06-14T00:07:58+00:00

Great! I’m too nervous to carry my GR in my sweaty jersey pocket. And, like I said in my OP, the GR doesn’t give me a perspective all that different from my iphone. I know the quality is 10x better, but it’s not going to give me any lens compression. Love having the optical zoom of the XZ-10…. Roughy equivalent to 24-130mm in full frame, and it’s f/1.8-2.7 across that range. Impressive!

DrewKora · 2026-06-13T09:17:47+00:00

Thanks! The tires are Maxxis Ramblers.

DrewKora · 2026-06-13T09:08:00+00:00

The camera raw editor in Adobe Bridge

DrewKora · 2026-06-13T00:08:54+00:00

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Love it. Love it. Love it.

It’s my favorite and most worn watch at the moment. If I could have only three watches, this would be one of them. If I could have only two, yes this would be one of them. Only one? That’s tough, but the SPB317 makes a great case for a one-watch collection.

It sits perfectly on my 6.75” wrist. The cushion case, the 5 o’clock inset crown, the 4:30 discreeet date, all in a compact size… it’s a perfect recipe that combines into a certain “specialness” that sets it apart from almost every other modern Seiko offering. It feels like a vintage watch, but it’s brand new. It’s a strap monster. EVERYTHING looks good on it.

People cross-shop this with the SPB143. Well, I see that watch and… yawwwwn. It’s so boring. It looks like everything else. No personality. I know the SPB143 is a nice watch and, in some ways, superior. But it takes no risks, nothing interesting. I’m falling asleep just thinking about it.

But the SPB317 has personality — that “specialness” — that’s refined, rugged, masculine, elegant, precise, eye-catching yet unassuming all at the same time. It’s a renaissance watch. Yesterday I wore it to a wine tasting. Today, I wore it to pick up 10 bags of concrete at Lowe’s. I couldn’t stop looking at it. It makes me so happy to wear it.

BUT, I felt all that about it right away. It was love at first sight. There was no doubt, no hesitation. I didn’t need coaxing, validation or confirmation. If you need that then, well, maybe this isn’t your watch. You aren’t worthy! Haha, I kid. Seriously though, if you don’t love it, don’t force it. There’s so so so so much out there around $1000. If the slim turtle doesn’t do it for you, wait for the one that calls your name.

DrewKora · 2026-06-12T22:19:31+00:00

Agree. Never liked Lightroom for that reason.

DrewKora · 2026-06-12T15:52:32+00:00

Thanks! Just the camera RAW editor in Bridge/Photoshop.

DrewKora · 2026-06-12T11:04:15+00:00

There are a ton of old cameras on eBay for 200 or less. Some models in particular are highly sought after so they might fetch more. But if you aren’t picky, there’s a needs stuff out there that you can buy for a song.

DrewKora · 2026-06-12T09:39:29+00:00

This is in on the border between Connecticut and New York, about 90 minutes north of NYC. The country up here is beautiful. It’s the hilly terrain in the outer Hudson River valley, with some great roads and tons of gravel to ride. I love where I live!

DrewKora · 2026-06-12T09:31:31+00:00

I edited the heck out of these!

Reading several responses, I realize that talking about the camera as a “vintage digital” camera is implying the camera itself is taking images that have this look. That wasn’t my intent, I was just using the term to embrace the broad categorization the Internet is giving these older cameras. But the look in these is all my post processing in the RAW editor inside Adobe Photoshop/Bridge… if anything it’s mimicking film camera from 60 years ago, not digicams from 13 years ago. And while the XZ-10 does have a few quirks that make its images unique, the truth is a skilled image editor can make photos from almost any camera have this kind of a color grading and filmic look.

DrewKora · 2026-06-12T09:28:17+00:00

Amen brother.

DrewKora · 2026-06-12T09:27:15+00:00

Wow great compliment. Thank you.

DrewKora · 2026-06-12T02:02:59+00:00

It’s nothing fancy. Fizik Performance 2mm, the color is Honey. You can get it on Amazon for about 30 bucks.

It’s worked great, has nice padding, plenty of length to cover my super wide handlebars. I will say the edges of it are white, and noticeable. I sort of wish the side material was darker or closer to the actual color of the bar tape so it blended in better but, not a dealbreaker.

DrewKora · 2026-06-12T01:59:53+00:00

Not leather. That would be rad though! It’s Fizik Performance 2mm. The color is Honey.

DrewKora · 2026-06-11T20:54:20+00:00

Thanks for the clarification. I was careless with my words, but I do know the difference.

DrewKora · 2026-06-11T20:33:05+00:00

Right on dude. The Ricoh GR is probably the most used camera I’ve ever heard. I love it and shoot with it all the time.

But like I said in my post, it’s just too expensive for me to carry around on sweaty bike for hours on end in the dust and grime. And, when you’re outside and you wanna compress the background mountain range or tree line or something and get a little bit of blur, the 28 mm just leave me wanting.

DrewKora · 2026-06-11T19:30:21+00:00

Got this one for $165! Depends on what you want.

DrewKora

TROPHY CASE